A Note From Colleen

Hi, friend.

Making money definitely needs to be one of the goals you set for your business. You absolutely need to be paid for the value you deliver and you need to understand the level of commitment required to achieve the financial goals you set for your business.

But, don’t overlook other goals - the goals that impact where and how you work and for how long.

Below, I’ve shared the goals I think are important to consider while making decisions early on in your new business.

Thanks for being here.

Cheers,

Colleen Kochannek, Publisher

*This publication may include affiliate links and links to products I sell. If you click and buy, I may earn revenue and/or commission. 

BUSINESS BASICS

More Than Money:  Goals You Need To Set For Your Business.   

Defining KEY goals BEFORE you start your business will give you clarity around business decisions such as your ideal business model, which products/services to offer, how you price them, and how you offer them.

Most importantly, defining your goals will enable you to create a business you love and that enhances your life, not one that becomes a beast. 

While you may not have all of the answers when starting it is important to guesstimate and simply put these goals on your radar for consideration when important decisions need to be made.  

FINANCIAL GOALS

There’s more to your financial goal than “I want to make money”.  I encourage you to get specific:

• How much money do you want to make?

• How much money do you need to make?

• By when do you need to generate revenue?

• How much do you have to invest in your business?

• WHERE is money to invest in your business going to come from? Self Funding, borrowing, credit cards, or other?

Getting specific with money goals will help you set expectations around time and investment commitment. 

Wanting to generate $10k per month of revenue within 12 months is a far greater commitment of your time and investment than wanting to generate $2k in revenue per month.

There’s no right or wrong answer. You decide the goal and use it to manage expectations around the time and money you’ll need to input for the output. 

LIFESTYLE AND TIME COMMITMENT GOALS:

We have different considerations when starting a business after 50 than if we were in our 30’s. And, we want the business we build to support the life we’ve spent decades building (not getting in the way, right?)

• How much time do you want to commit to work?

• Does your business need to be location INDEPENDENT? If you plan on RVing across the country 3 months per year you’ll need to be able to take your business with you; or, plan for a 3 month hiatus each year.

• Do you have a job currently that you plan to keep? How will you fit your online business commitments around this schedule?

• Do you have any big ‘life considerations’ to account for? 

  • Do you plan on selling your home in the next 3-6 months? Starting a business at the same time might be a big ask.

  • Retiring spouse? Caring for an aging parent? 

• How long do you anticipate running your online business? Do you consider it a 5 year venture? 10 years? Run it til you drop?

• What other commitments do you have? Do you volunteer in the community? Watch grandkids 1 day a week? Other?

None of these are deal-breakers for starting a business, but they definitely need to be considered so you can build the right business for you.

MARKETING GOALS:

This goal may seem a bit premature, since you’re just starting your business, but it’s a biggie.

The thing you will do most in your business is MARKETING. I’ve talked about this fact often. The majority of your time will be spent finding and keeping customers. 

The business model you choose will determine what your marketing activity looks like - aka what your days will look like.  

• Do you want to spend your time talking about a topic you really care about? If so, start a passion or knowledge-based business. 

• Is your personality more drawn to data, processes and tactics? Do you enjoy the strategies and ‘game of business’ more than the subject matter itself? If so, starting an online business such as affiliate marketing or dropshipping 

There is no right or wrong answer here. Choose where you will be happiest. What suits your personality?

PERSONAL GOALS:

What ‘holes and roles’ do you want your business to play on a personal level? 

Hear me out.  Here are some roles my business fills for me. Hopefully, they ring true for you, too, or get you thinking about others. 

• Travel Opportunities: I love having the chance to travel to mastermind events and business conferences.

• Community: My business has brought so many new people into my world - both online and locally. I’ve been able to create an entire circle or community of fellow online entrepreneurs who have also become friends. It’s really expanded my circle (that was rapidly shrinking).

• Creativity: I came from a corporate/business-y background that didn’t leave much space for creativity. Having a solo-preneur business means I get to wear many hats. I am not boxed in by my job title. I get to be creative in many ways: writing this newsletter and emails and social media content; designing graphics in Canva and creating interesting presentations; and, making interesting decisions in my business. 

• Brain Health: I don’t know if this is a good one or not… chuckle. The amount of learning curves I am faced with on a daily basis in my business has kept my brain sharp (and has taxed my sanity on occasion). 

• Boredom Fighter | Motivation Keeper: I’m always having to ‘figure things out’ in my business. For me, being challenged in this way is a huge win. If I get bored with something, it’s the kiss of death for me. I used to change job roles every 5 years when I was corporate for this very reason. As soon as I got bored, I lost motivation.

All of this to say - be intentional about the type of business you choose and what your business needs to do for you.   

LIFE REIMAGINED

Are you good with not having a plan?

A big part of my plan right now is learning to be okay with not having a plan.  

We spend so much of our lives planning and preparing for our plans, that when we get to a place where we don’t have a plan it can feel uncomfortable.

• How long will I live where I live? I don’t know.

• Where would I go if I leave? I don’t know.

• What do I want to do with my days? I don’t know.

But, I’m beginning to see this - not having a plan - as a plus. 

One of the perks of having an online business is it travels with me, no matter where I go. As long as I have the internet, I can run my business.

Another perk is being able to pivot an online business when things change; or, when I change my mind.

My very first online business was location specific, an online magazine for my little Florida town. After losing my hubby,  I realized that being location dependent was not what I wanted long term, so I changed my business.

I’m beginning to like this idea of flexibility (aka not having a plan). You?

QUICK WINS

Ok… this is a bit of a cheat- win. I enjoy the book club I am in, but I didn’t finish the last book. It just didn’t hold my attention.

Rather than declare, “I haven’t finished the book” I Googled the book’s Cliff Notes and was able to participate in the book discussion. Nobody’s the wiser.

Don’t tell anyone. 🙂 

What are your quick wins? Hit Reply, let me know and I can share them with everyone.

COMING NEXT WEEK

I want to introduce you to Stan. Stan.Store is a new-ish tool that can make starting your first online business - as a non-tech-y - so much easier.

The SUGGESTION BOX

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